Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 490
June 29, 2023
TEMPLES @ Teragram Ballroom Saturday June 24th 2023
All photos by BRADLEY DUPRAY
blur BRAND NEW TRACK – OUT NOW “St. Charles Square” WATCH VIDEO HERE
blur
BRAND NEW TRACK – OUT NOW
“St. Charles Square”
WATCH VIDEO HERE
BRAND NEW ALBUM
The Ballad of Darren
OUT JULY 21st 2023
ONE WEEK UNTIL BLUR TAKE WEMBLEY STADIUM!
SATURDAY JULY 8th & SUNDAY JULY 9th
With Support from Sleaford Mods, Self Esteem, Jockstrap, Paul Weller and The Selecter
LAST REMAINING TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Photo Credit: Reuben Bastienne-Lewis
WATCH ALBUM TEASER HERE
With just over a week to go until blur take the stage for two unmissable shows at Wembley Stadium, the band today dropped “St. Charles Square”, the latest track to be released from their highly-anticipated brand new album The Ballad of Darren, out July 21st on Parlophone / Warner.
“I fucked up, I’m not the first to do it.” – St. Charles Square
The opening line of “St. Charles Square” is already firmly established as a crowd favorite, with audiences enthusiastically roaring along with Damon Albarn as the band blaze their new songs across Europe this summer. The song’s chorus recalls the discordant art-pop swagger of earlier work and sees Albarn queasily exclaim “cause there’s something down here, and it’s living under the floorboards” encircled by backing vocals that compound the sense of encroaching peril and a quintessentially marauding guitar turn from Graham Coxon.
Damon Albarn said of the track – “St. Charles Square is a place where the ghosts of monsters can be found.”
Eight years since their chart-topping album The Magic Whip (2015), blur made a surprise return 6 weeks ago with the release of “The Narcissist”, racking up over 10m global streams – and counting – with a song which The Guardian (4/5 stars) describes as sounding like “…Blur have never been away”. Blur were most definitely back the moment Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree burst onto the stage for an electric live return at their first warm-up and first-ever show at Colchester Arts Centre in Essex on May 19th. With further shows in Eastbourne, Wolverhampton and Newcastle and now on the road in Europe, blur will have already performed their iconic and much-loved songs – along with new tracks “The Narcissist’”and “St. Charles Square” – to more than 2 million ecstatic fans across Europe by the time they take stage for their first-ever Wembley Stadium shows in London in just over a week.
The band will welcome old friend and special guest Phil Daniels for a very special guest appearance on both nights at Wembley Stadium, with Sleaford Mods joining the line-up for the sold-out Saturday July 8th along with critically acclaimed English singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem and London-based electro-pop duo Jockstrap. Sunday July 9th will see Paul Weller and The Selecter open for blur, with DJs Steve Davis and John Doran & Kavus Torabi also set to entertain the crowds at what promises to be two unmissable summer nights in the capital.
The band’s headline show on Saturday July 8th at Wembley Stadium sold out in minutes, with a second and final show added for Sunday July 9th. Last remaining tickets available via Ticketmaster.
Download album artwork and band press photos here.
Press enquiries, contact:
Steve Martin: steve@nastylittleman.com
Michele Hug: michele@nastylittleman.com
Rick Gershon: Rick.Gershon@warnerrecords.com
About The Ballad of Darren
blur will release their first album in 8 years, titled The Ballad of Darren and comprising 10 new tracks, on July 21st on Parlophone / Warner. Produced by James Ford and recorded at Studio 13, London and Devon, The Ballad of Darren is the band’s ninth studio album, their first since the chart-topping The Magic Whip in 2015, with artwork featuring an image by British photographer Martin Parr.
The Ballad of Darren track listing is: The Ballad, St Charles Square, Barbaric, Russian Strings, The Everglades (For Leonard), The Narcissist, Goodbye Albert, Far Away Island, Avalon and The Heights
The Ballad of Darren will be available as a Digital Download & Stream (10 tracks as above); Standard CD (10 tracks) and Deluxe CD (12 tracks, w. expanded packaging), Standard Vinyl LP – 12” heavyweight black vinyl; and – exclusive to blur.co.uk – Deluxe Vinyl pressed on 12″ clear vinyl with black swirls, in a gatefold sleeve, with poster, bonus 7” vinyl, album CD (12 tracks) and integrated booklet, including exclusive handwritten notes, sketches and lyrics; and Cassette (10 tracks).
Pre order The Ballad of Darren here.
LAEL NEALE SHARES NEW SINGLE “WHITE T-SHIRT”
Blakeslee says of the song, “‘’White T-Shirt’ dates back a number of years to when I used to follow Lael around LA to all of her barely publicized performances. The song never ceased to silence the chatter in the room. There was nothing I could add to this performance, it’s a raw gem that stands alone and cuts through the noise.”
Lael Neale has also extended her international tour schedule for 2023 in support of Star Eaters Delight, which resumes Tuesday, July 11th in Prague, CR at Zluté Lazné and currently runs through Friday, September 29th in Seattle, WA at The Paramount Theatre.
Highlights for the summer and fall run include UK & European dates supporting Ben Howard (July 11th-July 23rd), U.S. Pacific Northwest dates with label mate Weyes Blood (September 27th-29th), and new UK & European headlining shows (September 6th-16th). A current list of dates is below, and tickets for these shows are on sale now.
Tue. Jul. 11 - Prague, CR - Zluté Lazné *
Wed. Jul. 12 - Warsaw, PL - Progresja Summer Stage *
Fri. Jul. 14 - Berlin, DE - Zitadelle *
Sat. Jul. 15 - Hamburg, DE - Stadtpark *
Mon. Jul. 17 - Munich, DE - Tonhalle *
Tue. Jul. 18 - Zurich, CH - X-Tra Podium *
Fri. Jul. 21 - Glasgow, UK - SWG3 Yard *
Sat. Jul. 22 - London, UK - Alexandra Palace Park *
Sun. Jul. 23 - Cardiff, UK - Cardiff Castle *
Wed. Sep. 06 - Rotterdam, NL - Roodkapje
Thu. Sep. 07 - Utrecht, NL - Ekko
Fri. Sep. 08 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Upstairs
Sat. Sep. 09 - Asten-Heusden, NL - Misty Fields Festival
Mon. Sep. 11 - Bristol, UK - Crofters Rights
Tue. Sep. 12 - Brighton, UK - The Prince Albert
Wed. Sep. 13 - London, UK - Moth Club
Thu. Sep. 14 - Dublin, IE - The Workman’s Club
Sat. Sep. 16 - Leffinge, BE - Leffingeleuren Festival
Wed. Sep. 27 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater ^
Thu. Sep. 28 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre ^
Fri. Sep. 29 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater ^
* w/ Ben Howard
^ w/ Weyes Blood
The beguiling Star Eaters Delight reveals an expansion of Neale’s sonic collaboration with producer and accompanist Guy Blakeslee and arrives on the heels of her Sub Pop debut Acquainted With Night, which won international acclaim for its crystalline vocals, clever songwriting, and excellent use of Omnichord to build a world of beautiful reveries.
In April of 2020, Lael moved from Los Angeles back to her family’s farm in rural Virginia. Looking at the world from a distance and getting in tune with her own rhythms, she wrote and recorded steadily for two dreamlike years, driven by a need to make order out of chaos. Forged in isolation, Star Eaters Delight is a vehicle for returning, not just to civilization, but to celebration. She explains: “The unbroken silences on the farm compelled me to break them with sound. This album is louder and more external, calling out to the world.”
Star Eaters Delight was written by Neale, with arrangements and production by Guy Blakeslee. The recordings were made on cassette in Virginia and mastered by Chris Coady in Los Angeles.
Star Eaters Delight is available now from Sub Pop. LP orders from megamart.subpop.com, and select independent retailers in North America, the UK and Europe, will receive the Loser edition on gold vinyl.
What people are saying about Lael Neale’s Star Eaters Delight:
“A unique, boldly weird proposition, and one that proudly carries the faint hint of tractor grease. Half of it comes on like cult 70s folk artist Karen Dalton hanging out with the Velvet Underground and Suicide, while the rest offers somewhat more modern balladry, placing her more in the world of Angel Olsen and Cat Power.” - THE GUARDIAN
“Spellbinding” ★★★★★ - SHINDIG!
“There’s something a little haunting about her voice, it helps too that she writes primarily on the Omnichord, which has a little bit of spookiness built into it. But this is kind of an album for Luddites about how to exist in a world that demands too much of your attention and how you can be intentional about the way you move through it. It was recorded on cassette, which I love because it brings a real warmth to it, and a real presence of being in the room, which I think really delivers that message home.” “New Music Friday: The Best Releases Out April 21st” - NPR MUSIC
“…An excellent new album” - STEREOGUM
“Neale has placed her trust in life’s meanders—and in its source—and the result is her best work yet: a golden mean between experimentation and pop, lo-fi and hi-fi, vitality and rest.” - PASTE
“Neale is imaginative, but she’s steeped in songwriting craft and she knows her way round a whopping chorus.” ★★★★ - MOJO
“Star Eater’s Delight…was recorded on cassette, and tape hiss acts like a third band member here. She sings of flowers, rivers, seas, and trees; holy water, perfect deaths; bells of time, patience, and the speed of medicine. Carried by words and rhythm, she’s barreling towards something just beyond the horizon.” - AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
“Neale has put together a tight package of an album with no stray notes but one also brimming with a sly multitude of ideas. Kudos to Neale for not playing it safe and simultaneously doing something wholly different than anyone else out there.”
9/10 - UNDER THE RADAR
“This collection of versatile songs acts as a tour of different neighborhoods in the beautifully smeary nocturnal dream world Neale began building on her last album.” ★★★★ - ALL MUSIC
“A collection of songs with the weight and conviction of hymns. Some have a more spare, lo-fi feel, with Neale’s voice accompanied by vintage instruments, including her signature mellotron, but the real centerpiece is the eight-minute “In Verona,” which brings a real sense of urgency to its invocations of Shakespeare.” “Notable Releases of the Week” - BROOKLYN VEGAN
“An elegantly spare showcase of her radiant voice, a tremulous yodel tinged with gospel and country inflections. Bathed in antique analog acoustics, spine-tingling ballads of romantic yearning....” - UNCUT
NOISE POP'S FREE CONCERT SERIES RETURNS TO MCLAREN PARK THIS JULY - MUSIC LINEUP ANNOUNCED TODAY
DUE SOUTH CONCERT SERIES WILL BRING FOUR FREE CONCERTS
TO MCLAREN PARK FOR 2023 SEASON STARTING JULY 29
The Expanded Third Season of Due South will Bring Bay Area Icons, Latin Legends, & Exciting Young Talent
To the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in Southeast San Francisco
Concert Series Presented in Partnership Between San Francisco Parks Alliance & Noise Pop
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 29, 2023) – Today, San Francisco Parks Alliance and Noise Pop announced the third season of Due South, the free outdoor concert series hosted at Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park.
This season, Due South is expanding from three to four concerts after bringing thousands of attendees to the Amphitheater in 2022 to see acts like Deafheaven, Thao, and Ozomatli. Each of the four concerts in the season features a group of contemporary talent as diverse as the Bay Area itself that celebrates the cultures and communities that surround McLaren Park. This year’s lineup features artists representing genres from rock to R&B to Latin alternative, many of which are native to the Bay Area. In addition to live music, Due South features food trucks from local restaurants.
All four concerts in the series are free and open to the public, but concert goers are encouraged to RSVP online at dothebay.com/due-south to enter to win reserved seats and prizes at each concert. There, attendees can also become an SF Parks Alliance member to secure reserved seating at any of the shows, while supporting parks across San Francisco.
The kick-off concert on July 29 will feature two Oakland-based acts: garage rockers Shannon and the Clams and psychedelic hip hop artist James Wavey. The concert on August 26 will feature indie-pop band Cherry Glazerr, rock band Momma, and Oakland’s genre-bending King Isis. On September 16, a pair of Latin indie-alternative artists, Y La Bamba and the Bay’s own Marinero, will take the stage with support from San Francisco’s own Loco Bloco. Oakland-born legend Sheila E & The E-Train will close the season on October 7 with Oakland singer-songwriter Satya.
“Southeast San Francisco deserves a free concert series on par with Stern Grove or Hardly Strictly, and Due South at McLaren Park is the answer, ” said Drew Becher, CEO of SF Parks Alliance. “It’s one of the best hidden gems in San Francisco, and it’s about to lose its ‘hidden’ status.”
Due South was created in 2019 to bring a premier free concert series to McLaren Park, the second-largest park in San Francisco. After a pandemic-related hiatus, the series returned with a three-show slate in 2022. Due South provides critical support for greenspaces across San Francisco by donating a portion of proceeds to SF Parks Alliance.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to bring back such a beloved local event series, especially with such incredible partners as those at SF Parks Alliance. The Noise Pop team is looking forward to reaching more music fans than ever before with this expanded schedule, while also exploring new civic-minded projects around the Bay Area and finding new ways to support the local arts community,” said Noise Pop’s CEO Michelle Swing.
Jerry Garcia Amphitheater is a Greek-style outdoor concert theater with outstanding acoustics and scenery. Originally built in 1970 by SF Rec & Parks, the Amphitheater was renamed in 2006 in honor of the Grateful Dead icon who grew up nearby in the Excelsior neighborhood.
“I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer day than in enjoying live music while
surrounded by nature in McLaren Park,” said San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “We are thrilled to welcome back Due South with its diverse
lineup of talent.”
Due South is produced by SF Parks Alliance and Noise Pop, in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. Special thanks to the City of San Francisco, District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, the Office of Economic & Workforce Development, and sponsors for their support in making the 2023 season possible.
Due South 2023 Schedule [all events Saturday, 2-6 PM]
July 29: Shannon and the Clams, James WaveyAugust 26: Cherry Glazerr, Momma, King IsisSeptember 16: Y La Bamba, Marinero, Loco BlocoOctober 7: Sheila E., SatyaApproved Links
RSVP for a chance to win reserved seating + prizes at each concert:
FRENCH SEXTET L’IMPÉRATRICE AND CUCO TEAM UP FOR PSYCHEDELIC DISCO TRACK “HEARTQUAKE”
FRENCH SEXTET L’IMPÉRATRICE AND CALIFORNIA’S CUCO TEAM UP FOR PSYCHEDELIC DISCO TRACK “HEARTQUAKE” + LYRIC VIDEO
L’IMPÉRATRICE, THE “FESTIVAL FAVORITE” LIVE BAND, WILL PERFORM AT LOLLAPALOOZA AND OUTSIDE LANDS
(see all live dates below)
“Every Coachella has that moment. This year’s breakout belonged to France’s L’Impératice, whose precipice-of-the-’80s-influenced, earnest Eurodisco led to an enormous crush of people trying to get a dance in.” - Variety
“7 Captivating Sets From Coachella: Parisian six-piece L'Impératrice took the Gobi tent to the discothèque for an exuberant, funk-filled dance party.” - GRAMMY.com
“Transport yourself to the Riviera with the low-key disco clouds drifting from this French band’s set.” - Austin American Statesman
Today, the French sextet L’Impératrice has teamed up with California’s Cuco to bring their nu-disco and psychedelic styles together to a perfect match with “Heartquake”. Having met backstage at Coachella in 2022, they created the thrilling summer song which is bound to become a live highlight at the summer festivals. After becoming a “festival favorite” with rave live reviews for their Coachella and Austin City Limits performances, L’Impératrice has been invited to play Lollapalooza in Chicago and Outside Lands and San Francisco this summer.
L’Impératrice elaborates on “Heartquake”: "It's the story of someone completely disconnected from their emotions who is on their usual peaceful bus ride one morning. And then, someone sits across from them, and suddenly, their brain freezes, and they fall to their knees, struck by a thunderbolt, a kind of Tako tsubo. It's a sensation that shakes them to the core, and they're not sure if they can survive it, but they desire it." Cuco adds: “It’s a pleasure and honor to be working with my friends in L’Impératrice." You can see their YouTube live interview together here.
To further introduce the Parisian band, one can start by explaining that “Impératrice” is French for “Empress”. The frontwoman Flore Benguigui (vocals, synths) and Charles de Boisseguin (the group's founder on keyboards), Hagni Gwon (keyboards), David Gaugué (bass guitar), Achille Trocellier (electric guitar), Tom Daveau (drums) form an electrifying live band, draw from a range of genres, from 70s space disco to downtempo 90s synth pop, taking in French film composers like François de Roubaix and Michel Legrand along the way. “Albums that sold 500 copies in the 1970s are the records that interest us most,” the band explains.
L'Impératrice’s debut album Matahari arrived worldwide in 2019 with all the pomp and circumstance of a coronation. Matahari is a glittering, cinematic summation of six years of hard work that draws on some of the finest found sounds and forgotten sonic fandangos hiding in crates across the land, all given L'Impératrice’s own inimitable 21st century twist. Their follow up album Tako Tsubo (2021) was critically acclaimed and earned them the chance to play Coachella 2022, which became their breakthrough live set. Tako Tsubo is the official name for broken-heart syndrome, (蛸 壺, from Japanese "octopus trap"), which manifests itself by a deformation of the heart due to an intense emotion - a negative or positive one.
About Cuco:
From a fairly early stage, Cuco's songs seemed to connect with audiences online, his earnest bedroom pop aesthetic and evident talent resonating for obvious reasons. Home-recorded and shared via services like Bandcamp and SoundCloud, self-released projects like 2016’s Wannabewithu and 2018’s Chiquito EP mixed relatable and catchy works in English and Spanish, endearing Cuco to other first-generation Latin Americans and young fans of indie singer-songwriters. Untethered to genre constraints, he experimented with styles and sounds, incorporating mariachi and R&B, psychedelia and rap, as well as other forms into his diverse palette as he sought fit.
Much to his delight, the play counts on his tracks went from the thousands into the hundreds of thousands, prompting him to bring his music into the live setting more and more often, playing to growing crowds on tour and in festival settings. “It'll always be surreal to me,” he says. “I never take it for granted if I see so many people at one show, you know, I don't know the next day that I'm gonna see that again; it's always appreciated.”
Following the release of 2019’s formidable and unique Para Mí, his full-length debut since signing with Interscope, Cuco’s exponential growth and development as an artist became undeniable. With his latest album, Fantasy Gateway, Cuco pushes the envelope of his sound, presenting a new chapter of his career in which his growth and ability to take risks to great results are on full display.
L’Impératrice live dates:
Fri 8.4 - Montreal, CAN @ Osheaga
Sat 8.5 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (Lollapalooza aftershow) (SOLD OUT)
Sun 8.6 - Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
Wed 8.9 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy Theatre (SOLD OUT)
Thu 8.10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy Theatre (SOLD OUT)
Fri 8.11 - San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club (SOLD OUT)
Sat 8.12 - San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
Follow L’Impératrice:
https://www.instagram.com/l.imperatrice/
https://twitter.com/imperatrice__
YouTube
Follow Cuco:
https://www.instagram.com/cucopuffs
https://twitter.com/0xCuco
Moondog Tribute Album 'Songs And Symphoniques: The Music Of Moondog' Announced for 9/29
SONGS AND SYMPHONIQUES: THE MUSIC OF MOONDOG
SET TO BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 29
TRIBUTE ALBUM IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN KRONOS QUARTET AND GHOST TRAIN ORCHESTRA
SPECIAL GUEST VOCALISTS INCLUDE MARISSA NADLER, RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, JARVIS COCKER, JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN, PETRA HADEN, KAREN MANTLER, SAM AMIDON and AOIFE O’DONOVAN, AND BRIAN CARPENTER
SINGLE AND VIDEO FOR “HIGH ON A ROCKY LEDGE (feat. MARISSA NADLER)” – WATCH
PRE-ORDERS (CD and DOUBLE VINYL LP) AVAILABLE NOW
Songs And Symphoniques: The Music Of Moondog, a collaboration between Ghost Train Orchestra and Kronos Quartet with re-imaginings of the music of Moondog, is set to be released on September 29 through Cantaloupe Music. The album is heralded by the June 30 single and video release of Marissa Nadler’s take on “High On A Rocky Ledge.”
Watch “High On A Rocky Ledge (feat. Marissa Nadler)” here.
Moondog (Louis Hardin), was an eccentric blind musician who was ever-present on Sixth Avenue in New York City in the middle of the 20th century, decked out in Viking regalia while busking, reading poetry or selling his sheet music. Most passersby would have no clue that he composed beautiful and haunting music and was an inspiration to Phillip Glass and Steve Reich, who referred to him as “the godfather of minimalism.”
The album was initially conceived as a collaboration between Brooklyn-based Ghost Train Orchestra and the legendary Kronos Quartet, but quickly expanded to include numerous guest vocalists, including Marissa Nadler, Rufus Wainwright, Jarvis Cocker, Joan As Police Woman, Petra Haden, Karen Mantler, Sam Amidon and Aofie O’Donovan, and Brian Carpenter.
Brian Carpenter, producer, musical director, Ghost Train Orchestra:
"The first Moondog record I heard was the 1969 orchestra record simply titled Moondog. Its cover featured a very striking image of a man with a long white beard and ornate headdress. From the very first track I was immediately transported to another world -- a world of wonder and whimsy, darkness and beauty. For decades Moondog lived and worked on the streets of New York City, yet in the decades since he passed, no group in New York (or even worldwide) has seriously tackled the wide breadth of his music. I wanted to hear what the talented arrangers in Ghost Train Orchestra could do with his music and experience it live in the present day. Our collaboration with the legendary Kronos Quartet and this diverse cast of some of my favorite singers was an incredible thrill. Kronos Quartet's commitment to new music over the course of five decades has and continues to be a huge inspiration to all of us. We hope you enjoy these reimaginings of the wonderful world of Moondog as much as we do."
Marissa Nadler:
“The mysterious, mythlike lyrics in "High On A Rocky Ledge '' are almost divinatory, where grand themes are shrouded behind minimalistic imagery and melded with the "loveliest" earworm of a melody. There's a loneliness in the repeated trips to see the edelweiss, and a sadness in my perceived loneliness of the character's countless trips that made me drawn to the song. This inanimate object, the lone lace-like flower, documents the passing of time, but also a distinct love for the purity of nature. T. Rex referenced Moondog in the song "Rabbit Fighter," with the line "Moondog's just a prophet to the end…" and that's perhaps how this song cut deep for me. The beautiful playing of the Kronos Quartet and Ghost Train Orchestra give this rendition a sprawling space much like the mountain ranges and cliffs I imagine this song taking place in. Jenni Hensler, a filmmaker who I've worked with several times before, further interpreted her own meaning into the song with beautiful imagery, cosmic contemplation, and magically musical editing. (we had a blast searching for these locations across the Northeast, essentially becoming the flower and the searcher).”
Jenni Hensler, director of Marissa Nadler’s video for “High On A Rocky Ledge:
"The tireless struggle to attain the object of one’s eternal desire makes “High On A Rocky Ledge” about so much more than simply a love for a mountain flower. I shot the video on 16 mm film, in several remote locations across the Northeast, in a quest to visually marry this universal longing with a magical figurative interpretation of the lyrics. The dreamlike quality of the film evokes a timeless aura much like the song does. This never-ending quest is personified, as the character, played by Marissa, climbs and climbs, moving constantly forward, upward, and ascending in search of this seemingly unattainable version of herself."
###
The set includes extensive liner notes and archival photos chronicling Moondog’s history and the making of the recording, featuring an in-depth interview with Kronos Quartet’s David Harrington and Ghost Train Orchestra’s Brian Carpenter moderated by Moondog scholar Irwin Chusid. Tickets are on sale now for the concert "Ghost Train Orchestra Plays Moondog" at Roulette in Brooklyn, NY.
###
Track list for Songs And Symphoniques: The Music Of Moondog
01 Theme 3:52
02 Be A Hobo (feat Rufus Wainwright) 3:45
03 High On A Rocky Ledge (feat Marissa Nadler) 4:33
04 Caribea 2:04
05 Why Spend a Dark Night with You (feat Joan As Police Woman) 3:38
06 Enough About Human Rights (feat Karen Mantler) 3:41
07 I’m This, I’m That (feat Jarvis Cocker) 3:41
08 Speak of Heaven 4:20
09 The Viking of 6th Avenue 5:31
10 Down Is Up (feat Petra Haden) 1:26
11 Coffee Beans (feat Karen Mantler) 4:10
12 Behold (feat Sam Amidon and Aoife O'Donovan) 3:40
13 Choo Choo Lullaby (feat Brian Carpenter) 3:26
14 Fog On The Hudson 1:19
15 See The Mighty Tree (feat Petra Haden) 1:24
16 Bumbo 5:17
17 All is Loneliness (feat Joan Wasser) 6:13
Kronos Quartet, Credit: Lenny Gonzalez
Ghost Train Orchestra, Credit: Reuben Radding
Beverly Glenn-Copeland Releases "Stand Anthem", New Album Out July 28th via Transgressive
BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND RELEASES
NEW ALBUM - THE ONES AHEAD
OUT JULY 28, 2023 VIA TRANSGRESSIVE
REISSUE OF PRIMAL PRAYER ALBUM ANNOUNCED
FOR RELEASE ON SEPT 1ST
EARLY ALBUMS
BEVERLY COPELAND AND BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND
ALSO OUT JULY 7TH ON CD & VINYL VIA TRANSGRESSIVE
Photo Credit: Brianna Blank
Next month, Beverly Glenn-Copeland will release his long-awaited new album, The Ones Ahead, due out July 28th via Transgressive. The Ones Ahead is Glenn-Copeland’s first studio LP in almost 20 years and the first since the extraordinary career renaissance triggered by the rediscovery of his now-classic Keyboard Fantasies album. Today, he returns with another preview of the record with the track, “Stand Anthem.” The song is a collaboration between Glenn-Copeland and his longtime partner Elizabeth, an artist and playwright. She prompted Glenn-Copeland with an idea for a song within her play that would “leave the audience knowing of our collective power,” and “Stand Anthem” was born. Listen HERE.
Commenting on the track Glenn-Copeland says: “‘Stand Anthem’ was originally a song written to represent the essence of a one-woman show Elizabeth wrote, entitled, 'Bearing Witness'. She wrote, produced, directed and performed in the show which was workshopped with the support of that inimitable (and now late) Canadian dramaturg, Sharron Pollock with the support of Mount Allison University. In the show, I and an Indigenous elder represented 'the voice of the elders'. This was Elizabeth's visionary, earth-activist show, and utterly brilliant.”
Transgressive has also announced the reissue of Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s 2004 album Primal Prayer. The newly re-mastered album will be available on CD and double vinyl on September 1st and will be the first time the full album will be available on vinyl. Primal Prayer features the song “La Vita” which was recently sampled by the xx’s Romy on her new solo record Mid Air out the same week. Lyrics from ‘A Song And Many Moons’, the final song on Primal Prayer, are also featured in Elliot Page’s new best-selling memoir Pageboy. The re-issues of two of Glenn’s early works will also be available next week - Beverly Copeland and Beverly Glenn-Copeland. Both originally released in the 70’s these two out of print works have become widely sought after by collectors. Revered as modern jazz-folk masterpieces, they have been remastered and re-cut for release by Guy Davie. Both works will be available on CD and Vinyl and out July 7th. Fans can pre-order both Beverly Copeland and Beverly Glenn-Copeland now.
Glenn-Copeland recorded The Ones Ahead in collaboration with producer John Herberman and Indigo Rising (Bianca Palmer, Jeremy Costello, Nick Dourado, Carlie Howell and Kurt Inder), the band who accompanied him on his inaugural European tour, who's playing lends a cinematic richness to these intricately textured electroacoustic arrangements. The album was recorded in a remote studio in Nova Scotia in late 2021, then finished in 2022, with Herberman recording live from the floor, capturing the dynamic interplay among the group.
In the tumult of this world, there are constants. People need each other. Every motion brushes against others, moving. None of us are siloed and none of us are still. The music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland drinks deeply from these truths. For decades, the Philadelphia-born, Canada-based singer, songwriter, and composer has drawn myriad musical practices toward a single, luminous conviction: that music can shake us loose from what closes us off from each other. His multifaceted body of work surrenders to the beauty, pain, and great capacity for healing that courses through life; in its unguarded sincerity, it invites you to share in its courage. Glenn-Copeland's new album, The Ones Ahead -- his first collection of new music in nearly two decades -- deepens these explorations, casting searching light into how all of us must dissolve the harms of this world and carry each other forward into the next.
Glenn-Copeland began his musical career in the 1960s, when he studied classical singing at Montreal's McGill University and performed at Expo 67. A pair of self-titled, multi-genre albums released in the early '70s showcased his powerful voice and songwriting talent. In 1986, while living in rural Ontario, Glenn-Copeland taught himself to use digital synthesis and recorded the album that would ultimately alter the entire course of his career. At the time, he self-released Keyboard Fantasies via a 200-copy cassette run, selling just a handful while the rest waited in storage. In 2015, a Japanese record collector emailed Glenn-Copeland about selling the remainder; a new generation had unearthed his art. The music spread globally, and a few years later, in his 70s, Glenn-Copeland embarked on his first European tour to share his songs with live audiences, a journey captured in Posy Dixon's 2019 documentary Keyboard Fantasies.
Since Keyboard Fantasies’ rediscovery, a new generation of listeners and artists have embraced Glenn-Copeland's music. In 2021, he released the remix album Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined, which featured reimagined versions of the album's songs from contemporary visionaries such as Arca, Blood Orange, Julia Holter and Kelsey Lu. More recently, having been blown away after seeing him perform live in Stockholm, Romy from The xx sampled Glenn-Copeland on her new single “Enjoy Your Life”.
As his work has spread its inspiration, Glenn-Copeland has continued to develop his own prismatic musical practice. The songs on The Ones Ahead draw from a wealth of traditions, from American jazz to Irish fiddle songs to West African percussion. Some, like ‘No Other’ and ‘Stand Anthem’, were originally born as parts of song cycles and stage plays. Glenn-Copeland writes with an ear to what he calls the Universal Broadcasting System, receiving transmissions from the vibrations of the world around him and faithfully transcribing them. “The UBS sends what it wants, and like a good servant, I listen and write what I am given”, he says. Many of these songs came to him in the mid-2010s, around the time his music began to reach its intergenerational and intercontinental audience.
The Ones Ahead weaves together poignant themes: the need for love and mutual care in the face of destruction and uncertainty, the power people have when they reach out for each other, the ways that the wisdom of past generations can guide us along the path forward. On ‘Stand Anthem’, written as part of a collaboration with his wife and longtime creative partner Elizabeth for an eco-play called Bearing Witness, Glenn-Copeland calls upon the power of the human collective to right the course of the world toward sustainable survival. At a time when choosing the right thing can feel impossibly complex, ‘Stand Anthem’ clarifies a simple emotional call: “We have only one action / We have only one heart / Stand!” Glenn-Copeland urges with his Indigo Rising bandmates. The album’s title track bridges the music’s deep historical roots and the vast future to which it gestures. “The title of this song refers to two things: the generations to come and those in the unseen world that guide us: our ancestors, our spiritual guides. Whether or not we believe in them, they are there for us every minute of every day. All they need is for us to ask for their help,” Glenn-Copeland says. “As the old world crumbles, a new world is waiting to be born. All of our various strengths are needed. The generations of those yet to come are calling us forward.”
From the stirring, rapturous ‘People of the Loon’ to the gorgeously flowing ‘Prince Caspian's Dream,’ The Ones Ahead cultivates a vibrant hope for this world and what it must become to survive. A new chapter in an expansive and unique body of work, Glenn-Copeland’s latest album offers flowering wisdom for the world to come, needed now more urgently than ever.
The Ones Ahead Album Artwork
The Ones Ahead Tracklisting:
2. Harbour (Song For Elizabeth)
3. Love Takes All
4. People Of The Loon
5. Stand Anthem
6. The Ones Ahead
7. Prince Caspian’s Dream
8. Lakeland Angel
9. No Other
Jalen Ngonda announces debut album on Daptone Records + shares new video for title track
JALEN NGONDA ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM & SHARES TITLE TRACK
ANNOUNCES GLOBAL FALL TOUR KICKING OFF SEPTEMBER 5TH
COME AROUND AND LOVE ME OUT SEPTEMBER 8TH VIA DAPTONE RECORDS
Jalen Ngonda by Rosie Cohe
"Come Around And Love Me (single)"
WATCH: https://youtu.be/LWuMNsVkpMk
LISTEN: https://daptone.ffm.to/jalenngonda.HEW
Come Around And Love Me
PRE-ORDER/SAVE: https://daptone.ffm.to/jalenngonda.OPR
(June 29, 2023) - London, by-way-of-DC musician Jalen Ngonda announces his debut album for Daptone Records, Come Around And Love Me, out September 8th. His debut full-length, which he's teased over the course of the last year since the start of his tenure with the label, includes three well-received singles “What A Difference She Made,” “Just Like You Used To,” and “If You Don’t Want My Love," which NPR described as "a sweet, sunshiny serenade invites the funk-threaded spirit of rock and roll."
Along with the album's announcement, Jalen shares another gleaming example of what listeners can expect from his debut with the release of the album's title track and its accompanying visual directed by Casey Liu. "Come Around And Love Me" offers another glimpse into the expanse of Jalen's vision for his debut, with his voice complementing production nods to the sounds of early 70's Motown while singing about the early stages of a relationship, and seeking that sign from another person to jump all the way into the love you feel without any fear.
Speaking about the new track, Jalen says, "it was written late 2021 as soon as it was possible to fly to the USA after lockdown I jumped on a plane and we got to work! The song is about taking a chance in spite of the surrounding doubts.”
Recorded at Hive Mind Studios in Brooklyn, Jalen wrote and recorded the album with the help of producers/arrangers Mike Buckley and Vincent Chiarito (both members of Charles Bradley's Extraordinaires). Jalen's approach to music, and his debut, centers on his deep reverence of the Motown records he grew up with and his appreciation for the timeless soul music of the 20th century, while recognizing that he's able to bring a distinctly 21st-century point of view to those sounds. Come Around And Love Me distills those two timelines into a stunning debut record of modern soul and R&B from one of the powerhouse new voices in the genre.
At 28, Jalen’s resume reads more like that of a seasoned veteran: He has performed at New York City’s Summer Stage Festival, Pickathon, Newport Folk Festival, opened for Laura Mvula and Lauryn Hill at the Montreal Jazz Festival, sold-out houses on his own in Germany, the UK and Switzerland. After garnering rave reviews and thrilling audiences with his powerful solo performance in support of Thee Sacred Souls’ US tour, Jalen rejoined their European tour finishing with them in Rotterdam at the end of April, culminating with a sold-out headline show of his own at London's Moth Club earlier this month. This Fall, he’ll embark on a North American tour run with his full band, adding a new dynamic to his already-impeccable live show. Tickets are available here.
Check out "Come Around and Love Me" above, see more info on Jalen and his debut below, and stay tuned for more Jalen Ngonda coming soon.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
09/05 - Asheville, NC @ Grey /Eagle
09/06 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
09/07 - Durham, NC @ Motorco
09/08 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern
09/11 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
09/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ MilkBoy
09/14 - Baltimore, MD @ 8x10
09/15 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
09/16 - New York, NY @ Racket
09/18 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe
09/19 - Detroit, MI @ El Club
09/21 - Evanston, IL @ SPACE
09/24 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
09/27 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
09/28 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
09/30 - Ft. Collins, CO @ The Armory
10/01 - Salt Lake City, UT @ State Room
10/03 - Boise, ID @ The Olympic
10/05 - Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou's
10/06 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre
10/07 - Portland, OR @ The Jack London Revue
10/09 - San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
10/10 - Sacramento, CA @ Starlet Room
10/11 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew
10/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers
10/15 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
10/16 - Phoenix, AZ @ Last Exit
10/18 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Arts Collective
10/19 - Austin, TX @ Empire Garage Control Room
10/20 - Houston, TX @ Axlerad
10/22 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East
11/01 - Glasgow, SCT @ King Tut’s
11/02 - Liverpool, UK @ Jimmy's
11/04 - Birmingham, UK @ O Institutes
11/06 - Bristol, UK @ Exchange
11/07 - London, UK @ Jazz Cafe
11/08 - Rotterdam, NL @ Bird
11/09 - Paris, FR @ Cafe De La Danse
Jalen Ngonda
Come Around and Love Me
Daptone Records
September 8, 2023
1. Come Around and Love Me
2. If You Don’t Want My Love
3. Lost
4. That’s All I Wanted From You
5. Please Show Me
6. Just Like You Used To
7. What A Difference She Made
8. Give Me Another Day
9. So Glad I Found You
10. It Takes A Fool
11. Rapture
Sore Dream (ft. mem. Full Of Hell) & Hisham Akira Bharoocha Join Forces for Self-Titled Album
Sore Dream (ft. mem. Full Of Hell) & Hisham Akira Bharoocha Join Forces for Self-Titled Album
The noise duo are accompanied by renowned percussionist for their 8-song LP out July 28th on Closed Casket Activities. // Listen to "Blown Optics" now.
Photo by: Hisham Akira Bharoocha
We rebuild through deconstruction. By taking apart pre-existing systems, we assemble a framework for the future from the wreckage. Sore Dream—which features Dylan Walker and Spencer Hazard of Full Of Hell— cobble together elements of noise, electronic, and industrial into a dark, dynamic, and dangerous vision. Joined by drummer Hisham Akira Bharoocha in 2023, this clash of elements yields a sonic exorcism of cinematic proportions. Now, the union of Sore Dream x Hisham Akira Bharoocha seethes with venom and catharsis in equal measure on their self-titled collaborative LP for Closed Casket Activities.
“This record represents the spirit of collaboration and the organic blending of two musical projects into one hybrid piece of music,” notes Dylan. “It’s meant to be transportive and meditative. When you listen to the tracks, we’d like you to visualize a world being torn apart from the inside, the frailty of our planet, and the cruelty of our own hands.”
“If this could be a transportation device to a certain degree, that would be awesome,” agrees Hisham. “This is a collection of all the physical energy we put into the sounds, and we creatively meet in the middle to find a way to explode off of each other. It sounds like we are playing volleyball with the sun as our bodies sizzle when it hits us.”
Listen / share Sore Dream's S/T crushing album opener, "Blown Optics" on YouTube.
Sore Dream initially came together in 2020 as an ambient electronic outlet for Dylan and Spencer. Of course, the co-founders shared a deep chemistry from Full of Hell, yet they stretched it into new territory on prior Sore Dream releases Gears Clogged with Blood and Honey [2021] and Tears of a Blistered World [2022]. Along the way, they met Hisham “at some gig in Brooklyn a few years back.” Renowned for a myriad of musical and artist projects (from Soft Circle to Kill Alters), he instantly identified a kinship with Spencer and Dylan. Forging a friendship out of mutual respect, recording together proved to be a natural next step. By joining forces, Sore Dream added another dimension to the music with Hisham behind the drumkit. Working with co-producer Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets in Providence, RI, they shocked this body of work to life.
“Since we never had actual percussion in the past, Hisham added a new color to the project and made it a whole different experience for us,” notes Dylan. “He provided everything we ever could’ve wanted. The three of us were really open-minded. It was pretty effortless.” “I knew there would be some processing on the drums, so I wanted to create parts they could mess up, chop, and loop if needed,” Hisham continues. “Our tastes aligned, and it was really fun and gratifying.”
Cover artwork by Johnny Brokenbrow visually translates this aural Sturm und Drang. “Johnny painted the three of us on the cover,” Dylan goes on. “He actually based it on a lot of English folk art, and it encapsulates the energy and the mood. The color is a really important aspect. It’s a different direction for us.”
In the end, Dylan, Spencer, and Hisham have not only built an immersive album; they’ve also built a partnership meant to last. “Everything for this record fell into place as if it was meant to be,” Dylan leaves off. “We were able to create a fluid album that bridges the gap between eras of Sore Dream alongside our brother Hisham in a way that we could not have done without him.”
Look for Sore Dream x Hisham Akira Bharoocha to be available July 28th, 2023 from Closed Casket (pre-order here).
Sore Dream x Hisham Akira Bharoocha , cover art:
Sore Dream x Hisham Akira Bharoocha, track listing:
Blown OpticsFor a Colony of MollusksFlames of RuinCordycepsMicrooganic GenocideCrystal DownpourEarthy InocybeSpores in LungsDIVIDE AND DISSOLVE share "Want" single/video, New album 'Systemic' out tomorrow on Invada - Tour Dates Confirmed
DIVIDE AND DISSOLVE
Release New Single / Video “Want” - Watch / Share
Systemic Out Tomorrow on Invada Records - Listen / Share
"further heights of compelling power and serene beauty" - Bandcamp (Album of Day)
By Yatri Niehaus
(Styled by: Elfee Duquette, Garments by: Fade Out, Jewelry by: atelier Elle pé)
Divide and Dissolve’s Systemic is a thick wash of sound, equal parts beauty and anguish and creates a wholly encompassing experience for even a casual listener. You can feel the deep intention. Their dense sound is overwhelmingly heavy; a dissonant pounding of percussion, guitars, piano, synths and saxophone, interwoven with passages of orchestral beauty that give a feeling of respite.
The album examines the systems that intrinsically bind us and calls for a system that facilitates life for everyone. It’s a message that fits with the band’s core intention: to make music that honours their ancestors and Indigenous land, to oppose white supremacy, and to work towards a future of Black and Indigenous liberation.
Just ahead of its release tomorrow, Divide and Dissolve share Systemic’s palpable opener. “‘Want’ is a deep dive into longing within a decolonial framework,” tells saxophonist / guitarist Takiaya Reed. “We can want many things, but how will it happen? What is necessary, what systems must be broken in order for people to live?”
It comes alongside a third video from director Sepi Mashiahof who explains, “As ‘Want’ is the song that introduces us to ‘Systemic’, the concept for the video emulates this kind of infant yearning for worlds beyond our current heartbreaking reality. There are so many beautiful textures above our heads that are inaccessible (as there are so many desired modes of existence that are inaccessible), and the rotation emphasizes the limbo of what that desire feels like. Trying to reach something, but succumbing to the loop of failure. Still, that infant yearning is persistent, and that compliments the need for hope and cements the importance of idealism as essential tools in our greater struggles for liberation.”
Watch “Want” (Official Music Video) Here
Listen / Playlist Here
Like its predecessor Gas Lit, Systemic was produced by Ruban Neilson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Systemic was recorded as a duo and Takiaya says this new album is a continuation of 2021’s acclaimed Gas Lit. “Because of what was built with ‘Gas Lit’, ‘Systemic’ is able to express itself.”
“The heaviness is really important,” Takiaya says. “It’s congruent with the message of the music, and the heaviness feels emblematic of this world’s situation.”
She continues, “This music is an acknowledgement of the dispossession that occurs due to colonial violence. The goal of the colonial project is to separate Indigenous people from their culture, their life force, their community and their traditions. The album is in direct opposition to this.”
As Takiaya emphasises, it’s crucial for their music to be instrumental. “I believe in the power of non-verbal communication,” she continues, “A huge percent of communication is non-verbal. We learn so much without using words.” The exception to this on the album is one spoken word track, "Kingdom of Fear", that features writer and artist Minori Sanchiz-Fung who also contributed to previous Divide and Dissolve albums. The band’s choice to include Minori’s words is purposeful and important to their message (excerpt below):
If I am denied
The kindness
Needed to transform sorrow
If I am denied
The simple gentleness
Of existing,
Then I will leave
My gifts
Like lichen over the oak branches,
trusting they’ll be safe
Until you find them
The message of positivity is conveyed in Systemic’s final track “Desire”: a beautiful, multi-layered euphony of sound that feels like a beacon of hope. “There’s a world I want to live in, and I’m going to continue to focus on that world,” Takiaya says. “Indigenous people are here. With our existence it challenges the colonial constructs that call for genocide. We are still alive.”
Systemic arrives on all formats tomorrow, June 30th via Invada. Pre-order / pre-save it here.
Album Artwork | Photo By Ruban Neilson
Systemic Track Listing:
1 - Want (Official Music Video)
2 - Blood Quantum (Official Music Video)
3 - Derail
4 - Simulacra
5 - Reproach
6 - Indignation (Official Music Video)
7 - Kingdom Of Fear (featuring Minori Sanchiz-Fung)
8 - Omnipotent
9 - Desire
Divide and Dissolve Live Dates:
Jul 07: AU, Sydney, Crowbar
Jul 08: AU, Brisbane, Brisbane Powerhouse
Jul 14: AU, Melbourne, The Curtin Bandroom
Jul 15: AU, Adelaide, Unsound x Illuminate Festival
Aug 31: UK, Liverpool, District
Sep 01: UK, Leeds, Headrow House
Sep 02: UK, Birmingham, Supersonic festival
Sep 03: UK, Salisbury, End Of The Road festival
Sep 04: SCO, Glasgow, Broadcast
Sep 05: UK, Manchester, White Hotel
Sep 06: UK, Bristol, Strange Brew
Sep 07: UK, London, The Lower Third
Sep 08: BE, Gent, Trefpunt
Sep 09: LUX, Tetange, Human’s World festival
Sep 10: NL, Amsterdam, OCCII
Sep 12: NO, Oslo, Blå
Sep 13: SE, Gothenburg, The Abyss
Sep 14: SE, Stockholm, Slaktkyrkan
Sep 15: DK, Copenhagen, Alice
Sep 16: DK, Aalborg, Lasher fest
Sep 18: DE, Hamburg, MS Stubnitz
Sep 19: DE, Duisburg, Die Saule
Sep 20: FR, Lille, La Malterie
Sep 21: FR, Dijon, Consortium Museum
Sep 24: PT, Porto, Amplifest
Sep 27: DE, Nurnberg, Kantine / Softspot
Sep 28: CZ, Brno, Kabinet Muz
Sep 29: DE, Berlin, Decolonoize Fest
North America dates to come…
